CORTLAND, N.Y. - Former Plattsburgh State head men's soccer coach Chris Waterbury, who retired following the 2017 season, will be honored with the 2019 State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Retiree Award, as announced Thursday by the conference office. He will be presented with the award in May at the conference's annual awards banquet in Syracuse.
The Retiree Award is presented to personnel of full member institutions or the conference office with a minimum of 15 years of service within the conference.
Waterbury becomes the eighth Plattsburgh State representative to earn the award, joining his wife, former head women's soccer coach Karen Waterbury, among the list of honorees.
He spent 33 years building Plattsburgh State men's soccer into a regional and national power, and he was inducted into the Plattsburgh State Athletic Hall of Fame as a part of the Class of 2018.
Waterbury, who has more wins than any coach in the history of SUNYAC men's soccer and the 11th-most in the history of NCAA Division III, led the Cardinals to all eight SUNYAC titles they have earned in program history. Waterbury's teams qualified the NCAA Division III Tournament 11 times, and in 2005, he guided Plattsburgh State to the semifinal round of the NCAA Tournament. He led the Cardinals to 26 consecutive winning seasons from 1988-2013, the 12th-longest streak in Division III history.
He finished his 36-year head coaching career at 477-169-65 overall, which included one year at New England College, two years at Lyndon State College and 33 years at Plattsburgh State. Waterbury went 453-151-62 during his tenure with the Cardinals. He was named SUNYAC Coach of the Year on seven occasions, with his most recent honor coming in 2012 when the Cardinals went 17-3-1 overall.
Waterbury mentored 11 student-athletes to 15 All-America accolades, which included a three-time All-American, Jason Sousa, who picked up All-America recognition from 2003-05. He also coached seven SUNYAC Huntley Parker Award recipients and two SUNYAC Rookies of the Year.
He contributed to the department beyond just his role as the head men's soccer coach, as he served as the interim director of athletics during the 2004-05 academic year and held the title of assistant director of athletics during portions of his tenure at Plattsburgh State.
Waterbury began his career at Plattsburgh State in 1985, and from 1988 on, his teams never had a losing season. Waterbury went 3-9-1 overall at New England College in his first head coaching position in 1982, and he posted a 21-9-3 record at Lyndon State across two seasons there before accepting the head coaching job at Plattsburgh State. He is a 1981 undergraduate of SUNY Cortland and earned his master's degree from SUNY Albany in 1985.
